


Gift for the forgiven troubles

by Pentollsin



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Edgepuff - Freeform, Fluff, M/M, Mystical Creatures, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), little angst, mentions of injury, mermaid au, papcest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-02 04:50:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19192168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pentollsin/pseuds/Pentollsin
Summary: This is basically just a birthday gift for Cap, a nice, mostly fluffy mermaid story between two idiots





	Gift for the forgiven troubles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [captain_shitpost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_shitpost/gifts).



“COME ON, EDGE, WE ARE ALMOST THERE!” Papyrus grabs the other’s hand tighter as he swims faster, his fins almost hitting his own ectobody. Edge just simply rolls his eyes before he stops, pulling Papyrus back who responds with a yelp, falling into the other’s embrace. The red coloured mermaid immediately wraps his slim, longer body around Papyrus like a snake, a serious expression resting on his face.

“This is too close to the Walkers’ fishing territory. Are you sure you know what you are doing, because if it will be like last time, I am not sacrificing another appendage for you.”

Papyrus looks him in the eyelights, trying to hide his flinch with a smile. He steals a glance towards Edge’s right scapula where the torn flipper is. “I… ACTUALLY WANTED TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING THAT IS RELEVANT TO THAT???”

“Which is?”

“A SURPRISE OF COURSE, NYEHEH!” There is a moment of silence, Papyrus watching Edge lift one of his browbones before he speaks again. “PLEASE, EDGE. ITS JUST BEHIND THE ROCKS!” he points behind him, then easily slips out of Edge’s loosening hold on him. “BESIDES, YOU ALREADY CAME THIS FAR WITHOUT EVEN ASKING A QUESTION. BUT AS EXPECTED, MY GREATNESS MAKES YOU WANT TO FOLLOW ME!” Papyrus smirks, winking while making a winking sound out loud, starting to swim backwards before turning around. Edge stares at the other, then shakes his head, going after the other.

“You don’t even know how right you are about that, unfortunately.” He hums under his breath before he stills, taking in the scenery that welcomed him.

He rarely visits the places that are known for fishermen to be there. Many are out on the deep ocean going further and further down with their net for the bigger bite, with the ones that are so ragged that even kids in their kind realise what it is and avoid it if they ever see one. But there are the smart ones, mostly elder Walkers in towns that know that reefs have more to offer, if you look at the right place. The home of a swarm of fish, healing water plants, sponge colony or all of those together if you are lucky, the full aquatic life, filled with colours and its own Soul of the place.

“I FOUND THIS CORAL REEF A WHILE AGO AND I THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE IT!” Papyrus’s grin grows bigger as he watches Edge’s expression. “I KNOW YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN THE CORALS OF OUR SOUTH BORDERS WHERE YOU PATROL, AND I, WITH MY GENEROSITY, BELIEVED YOU ARE MORE THAN WORTHY OF SEEING SOMETHING THAT IS ALMOST MATCHING TO OUR GREATNESS! BUT!!! I HAVE ANOTHER SURPRISE FOR YOU! WAIT HERE!”

As papyrus is already swimming away, Edge slowly gets closer to one of the corals that has a purple colour, tinted with the blue of the ocean. It slightly resembles the figure of a creature, and Edge remembers back to the times when he was only babybones, his brother sitting next to him, telling stories of other species that are as mystical to Walkers as their own kind. Creatures who rule the sky with their lizard like body and enormous wings. And Edge, somehow, as he remembers, feels little bit of that calm again he had as a child, when he looks around this place, and maybe, he has to realise that not every bit of his wonder is gone.

He didn’t know when Papyrus got back, he just feels something softly touching his shoulders, a material draping over him. He lets go of the coral, (when did he put his hand on it?) inspecting what’s on him and comes face to face with Papyrus, his emotions of bashfulness and guilt out in the open.

“I WANTED TO APOLOGISE YOU PROPERLY, EVEN IF I ALREADY DID IN MANY OCCASIONS. I SEE HOW YOU ARE TRYING NOT TO SHOW HOW MUCH IT DOES NOT BOTHER YOU, HOW YOU DO NOT WANT TO CARE WHAT THE OTHER PEOPLE SAY. I KNOW IT IS MY FAULT AND I AM-“

Edge stops him, putting a hand to his mouth and looking down at the texture again. It was thick silk, the kind that was more than rare underwater. It had some splits at one of its end, resembling a scarf and it had almost the exact same crimson colour as his ectobody, perfectly covering his clavicles and scapulas.

“Where did you get this?”

“TWO WALKERS CAME HERE YESTERDAY WITH A WOODEN BOAT, LOADED WITH THIS! THE ROCKS BROKE THE UNDERSIDE OF IT BUT THEY SURVIVED! THE WATER HERE IS NOT THAT SHALLOW SO THEY EVEN MANAGED TO GET EVERY PIECE BACK, EXCEPT THIS!”

There is too much hole in this story. Why would the Walkers try to disembark here and not on the docks? If they could get all the silk back, why would they leave this behind? How can Papyrus know so much about what happened?

It isn’t hard to figure out the answer to the last question, once Edge glares at Papyrus, watching the other’s smile turn even more nervous.

“They were the Walkers you have been talking about, weren’t they? And you helped them.”

“NO, I WAS CONVENIENTLY IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIMEAND I FELT IT WAS MY DUTY NOT TO LET ANY OUTSIDE LITTER HARM THIS CORAL REEF, SO I COLLECTED THE SILKS THAT GOT STUCK, AND THE TWO WALKER SKELETONS JUST HAPPENED TO BE THE ONES I LANDED BACK THE SILK TO!”

Papyrus’s voice gets quiet at the end of his explanation, looking at how Edge’s eyelights are sharpening.

“It was already dangerous that you showed yourself to them and now this? How do you know you can trust in them? You said they did not look like they came from a wealthy family, so why and how would they have a boat filled with silk? Why did they even try to disembark here when the townspeople know this side is dangerous, why didn’t they try the port on the west side?”

“I KNOW YOU DON’T TRUST THEM AND I TOLD YOU I AM NOT EXPECTING IT FROM YOU, EVEN IF THEY NEVER TRIED TO HARM ME, AND THEY LOOK SO SIMILAR TO US! BUT THEY HELPED ME TO!” Papyrus retorts, lowering his head. He lifts his hand up, touching one of the ends of the crimson silk. “THEY GAVE ME ADVICE AND THIS TOO, SO THAT I COULD GIFT YOU SOMETHING FOR THE TROUBLES I CAUSED.”

Edge is silent for a long moment, thinking everything through and remembering why they came here in the first place. He then sighs, his tense posture going slack as he mentally smacks himself. That is not why Papyrus brought him here, and he already knew how hesitant and nervous the other was. He is just making things worse, and he hasn’t even said anything about the present… Even if his own concerns are somewhat justified, this shouldn’t have taken such a negative turn because of his scepticism, he can see right now how Papyrus is unsure and trying to hide all of that behind the smile he often has on his face.

Edge swims closer to the other, wrapping himself around him again, leaning his forehead against his. “I like it, you know. The scarf. Asgore forbid you miss anything when it comes to my wellbeing. And I am more than thankful for that. But I can’t help but worry about you, when it comes to this, You know it. But that does not mean I don’t appreciate what you are doing for me, what you showed me. And I forgave you a long time ago about my flipper. It just shows that I am willing to sacrifice myself for the ones I care about.”

“NYEH… I KNOW YOU WORRY AND I UNDERSTAND IT.” Papyrus lurches forward with his head, hugging the other and giving him a quick skeletal kiss. “AND I LOVE YOU TOO.”

**Author's Note:**

> (Yes, the two Walkers Papyrus befriended are Stretch and Slim)


End file.
